Light Moments
by imgilmoregirl
Summary: A collection of short fluffy flickets about Rumbelle's family in the Dark Castle.
1. Her First Word

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time or any of the characters and storylines in the show. This is just a fanwork made for fun._**

 _These flickets are set between the end of The Dark Lady and the beginning of The Dark Children. You don't strictly need to have read those two fics for most of them to make sense, but there are references from both works here all around. I've posted them on tumblr a while ago, they've been rewritten and edited, so if you have happened to read them there when I first posted them, it may sound a little familiar._  
 _I have some of these flickets written, but I'm taking prompts, if you have one for me. I'm always happy to fill them._  
 _Well, I hope you all enjoy it, as always. Thank you for reading._

* * *

The soft low noise of the spinning wheel filled the dining hall alongside with the giggles of the baby girl in Belle's arms. She was sat on the chaise cradling an eleven-month-old Rose gently, with Gideon by her side, playing with her, swinging his stuffed teddy bear in front of her face for her chubby fingers to try reaching it.

Small soft auburn curls started to frame her face some months earlier, her brown eyes grew intelligent and more aware of every detail they could catch, just as her babbling became more constant. The Dark Lady read for her very often, emphasizing the words in an attempt to turn her baby mumbling into something intelligible, trying to convince little Rose so say little things like "mama" or "papa", but most of the time all she could get from her was a bunch of giggles and some monosyllabic sounds.

Mrs. Potts had also been a great enthusiastic when it came of trying to teach the youngest member of the family to talk, just like Rumple and even Gideon, however Rose was all about unexpected moments. Just like her mama, she was the only one who decided when was the right time to do something. So, when her brother pulled the bear away from her for what must have been the tenth time that day, she furrowed, stretching her little arms in his direction with that distressed look in her eyes which indicated that if she didn't get what she wanted soon, she was going to start screaming, but what slipped through her mouth, was something way more delighting than a whine.

"Gigi!"

Rumplestiltskin stopped his work at the wheel and looked directly at the place where his family was nestled together, with wide eyes, a smile stretching on his lips. The imp wasn't sure if he had heard it right, however his ears most never wronged themselves and that new voice in the hall, was something so beautiful and sweet that could have only come from this tiny special being he loved so very much.

"Her first word," the Dark One contemplated.

Belle squealed happily, kissing Rose's cheek repeatedly and hugging her tight.

"Oh, baby, this is sweet."

"Gigi," Rose repeated, pointing at her brother.

A frown formed on Gideon's face. He didn't understand why his father was standing up and coming to join his mother in spoiling Rose, because of this stupid word, as it sounded terribly silly to him.

"This is not my name," he protested. "Gigi is not even a boy's name!"

"Darling, she doesn't know how to speak Gideon yet, but she is trying." Belle explained touching his cheek. "You should feel special, because out of every first word your little sister could have chosen to speak, she called you."

His brown eyes fixed on Rose's ones, and a small smile took him as he heard how she kept babbling the same word over and over again. He needed to admit she was very cute and the babyish way she kept doing everything was just too adorable to be ignored, which was probably why his father was looking astonished at her as he picked Rose from his mother's arms, mumbling joyful words to her.

Belle also appeared to be very proud and he wondered if they were that happy when he spoke his first word too, but knowing his parents, Gideon was pretty sure that they were probably as happier as they were now when it was him, learning those small things. He offered the bear to Rose and the baby girl lifted it to her mouth sucking at its stuffed ear, leaving it soaked with saliva. A grimace appeared in the boy's face, as he thought it probably wouldn't be wise to hold the bear again before someone washed it for him, but Gideon couldn't help feeling happy with the scene in front of him.

Moving the little girl to only one arm, Rumplestiltskin brushed his son's hair away from his face, smiling at him as his wife leaned her head against his chest.

"Are you feeling special now, my boy?" He asked.

"I do." Gideon admitted.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:** My apologies if there is something wrong with my writing. English is not my first language._


	2. A Tiresome Job

Belle never complained. She spent nights awake with a scared Rose completely terrified of closing her eyes and having another vision, she taught Gideon new maths during the day and very rarely accepted anyone's help when it came from the care of her children. Rumplestiltskin stood by her all the time, but he still needed to make his deals, and she was still left alone at some point, struggling to do everything that was needed while, having to soothe her children from time to time, dealing with whines, fears and visions. Motherhood was way more difficult than she ever thought it could be, however it didn't mean Belle ever regretted it, she was just slowly getting so very exhausted, it actually seemed things were never going to get better.

It was on an especially hard night that Rumplestiltskin decided that it was time to find a way to give her some rest. He arrived at the Dark Castle late night, took off his leather coat and headed to the staircase that led to the family chambers, when he saw Mrs. Potts coming down with a tray of tea on her hands, apparently going back to the kitchen.

"What are you doing up?" He asked with narrowed eyebrows.

"Oh, it's Rose, master. Her visions are really bad today."

His eyes closed momentarily as nodded, already imagining the repetitive night drama of trying to put his young daughter to sleep once she awoke from a terrible vision. The poor girl was haunted from those nightmares ever since her very young age and very often he blamed himself for passing such a curse to his innocent Rose. Swallowing the lump on this throat, the Dark One left the maid on the corridor, climbing up the stairs as quickly as he could, going straight to his daughter's chambers.

When he opened the door, Rumple felt his heart breaking into tiny pieces. Belle was crying, walking around the room with Rose sobbing in her arms, her six-month pregnant belly smashed under the little girl's weight. His wife was visibly shaking, he could see how her legs were weak under the thin fabric of her nightgown, just about to give up and let her fall, her arms here also trembling and he could notice how weak she was as her hand gently rubbed at their daughter's back.

Rumplestiltskin immediately reached for her, taking Rose from Belle's arms and leading his wife to the rocking chair, where she finally sat, shedding some tears while the imp started to sing until Rose fell asleep and he tucked her in bed, walking towards the Dark Lady then, kneeling in front of her and squeezing her hands in his with a preoccupied look in his face.

"I wish I could stop it and take those horrible dreams of hers away, but I can't and it makes me feel so useless and impotent," Belle muttered between some sobs, trying to keep her voice low not to wake Rose again.

"Oh, sweetheart," Rumple mumbled, kissing her knuckles before moving to stroke her belly gently. "Nothing can take Rose's visions away, not even the most powerful magic of all. But I need your suffering to end, because this is no good for you and certainly no good for the baby."

Belle's hand met his above her bump, but her glance was laid on the small bed where their daughter was nestled, flushed cheeks, mouth slightly open in her sleep and hair spread on the pillow.

"She needs me," the Dark Lady whispered.

"She needs her mother to be healthy," the imp corrected, noticing the dark bags under his wife's eyes. "You're not going to attend her during the night anymore. This is a tiresome job and you're exhausting yourself."

Belle shooked her head. He couldn't just command her to leave their child terrified with no one to calm her down, that was unthinkable and as much as she knew that her husband cared very dearly for her and the new baby she was bearing, Belle couldn't believe he was suggesting such a thing.

"Rumple, we can't just leave our daughter crying and going through all of this alone! I won't allow it!"

"Mrs. Potts will be with her, full time, whenever she needs from now on," he promised. "You know that in the end, Gideon is the only one that can quickly soothe her, but he also needs sleep, so the maid can do the work and I'll find another caretaker to help with the cleaning."

The lady worried at he lip, still not happy with the solution he had. She could be feeling like her body couldn't take another sleepless night without suddenly fainting, too weary to keep going, but Belle's heart ached with only the though of not being able to help Rose anymore.

"I don't want her to be scared of sleeping."

"She is five, Belle," Rumplestiltskin said, standing up and helping her to do the same. "Things will get better with time."

"I do hope. But I'll stay here, just for tonight."

The lady laid by her daughter's side and Rumple brought the chair near to the bed, so he could watch for their sleep.

"Then, I'll stay with you."


End file.
